For it was Serendipity
by ClancytheGiraffe
Summary: Derek and Casey, still complete strangers at this point, meet at an ice rink. Sparks fly between the two, with neither knowing who the other actually is yet. Takes place before their parents marry. DASEY.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: The Life With Derek characters are not mine.

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"Shit," Casey MacDonald cursed, as she felt several fat raindrops graze her cheek. "It's raining – great. What else could go wrong?" She fumbled with her pink sweater and, with her free hand, managed to get the hood over her long hair. Her other free hand clutched a pair of pink ice skates, a gift from her younger sister Liz.

Casey hadn't skated in years. _The last time, _she realized, as the rain began to pour, _being the day of Mom and Dad's divorce. _She tightened the drawstrings on her hoodie and quickened her pace. Neither her mother nor her sister knew that she was gone, yet Casey didn't care. A couple of hours ago, her mother had dropped a Nagasaki-sized bomb on her life.

It turned out, Nora, her dorky but well-intentioned mom, was getting married. _Married! _Casey couldn't believe it. Not just the marriage part, per se - her mother Nora had always been an attractive lady, with her sleek bob and large eyes. No, that wasn't even the worst part. It turned out that the entire MacDonald family would also have to move in with George, Nora's fiancé. _Move_! From the house they had grown up in, from the school they had built their reputations in, and from the friends they had spent their entire lives with. _It's so unfair! _Casey thought, feeling fresh tears push against her eyelids. _Why don't George's kids have to move? I'm sure they're much younger than Liz and I. _Her tears were flowing freely now, mixing with the raindrops.

The skating rink came into view, and Casey ran towards it, trudging her sneakers carelessly through any puddle she encountered. She was excited for a nice long day of skating and letting her mind wander – away from George, from her mom, from everything.

---

Casey's excitement was short-lived. She, dripping wet, pressed her nose against the glass of the skating rink, watching several burly boys in helmets whiz past. _Rink Closed to Public, _a nearby sign read. _John Sparrow Thompson hockey team practice 12:00-2:00._

Casey pried her face off the cold glass and took a seat at the snack bar. _This just isn't my day, _she thought, self-piteously. _The world just doesn't want me to be happy!_ Deep down, Casey knew she was being a bit magnanimous – the world most likely had better things to do than pick on her. _But still, _she reasoned. _Sometimes it sure felt that way. _

As she sat and moped, a small fire began building in the pit of her stomach. _You know what? _Casey thought, impulsively. _Who am I to just sit here, feeling sorry for myself? Really – if I want to skate, who's going to stop me? _She suddenly felt quite empowered, in manner of female Gandhi figure.

Thus, she, with a look of determination plastered upon her face, laced up her skates and made her way to the entrance of the rink. So far, nobody had noticed her.

_Click. _

The door was locked. _Darn._ She rammed her shoulder against it, but it still wouldn't budge. Finally, with a smirk, Casey heaved herself onto the top of the door and then swung her legs over the side. She felt her feet touch ice, and she immediately took off, performing pirouettes and leaps. Casey had always found skating to be easy – simply dancing on ice.

Needless to say, she had the attention of all the boys now. They stopped skating and looked over, amused. Some even offered her a couple wolf-whistles. Two guys, however, looked angry.

A short, burly guy and another taller, thinner one, skated over to Casey and skidded to a stop.

"Uh, excuse me, miss," the short one squeaked. "The rink is closed to the public."

"Yeah, can't you read?" the other sneered, pointing at the sign.

Casey only smiled back innocently. "I want to skate," she replied simply.

"Yeah, well, I want a million dollars, but we can't all get what we want, can we?" the tall one smirked.

Casey's mouth dropped, about to retort.

"Now, now, Derek," his friend cut in. "Let's be nice." He turned back to Casey. "Please, miss. Don't make this difficult-"

"What he means is," Derek interrupted, "Get the hell off our rink before this gets ugly. Although, that being said, it already is – since you're here."

Casey's eyes began to water in indignation. She was right before – it wasn't her day indeed. The waterworks began to turn on. "I just wanted to skate!" she cried loudly, before turning on her toe pick and speed skating off the rink. She heard open laughter behind her, but she ignored it. She had had quite enough.

---

Derek Venturi felt Ryan's gaze burn into the back of his head. "What are you looking at me like that for?" he muttered, picking up his hockey stick.

Ryan glared. "Look what you did." He gestured at the crazy ice skater, who was exiting the rink in tears. "Now she's going to report us. Do you really want us to get kicked off the rink again?"

"What?" Derek scoffed. "She's not going to report us. She's clearly out of her mind! 'I just want to skate! I just want to skate!' She's insane."

Ryan folded his arms, frowning. "Go apologize before she reports us, Derek. Or else I'll bench you for the first game."

Derek's jaw dropped. He knew better to pick a fight with the captain. _Damn. _He angrily threw his helmet onto the ice and skated towards the exit. Practice resumed without him.

Fortunately, Derek spotted Insane Woman at the lockers, forlornly unlacing her skates. He made his way over to her.

He sighed. "Hey."

---

(A/N) How was it? I hope you liked it! Don't worry, the story picks up from here. (: Until then, please feel more than free to leave a review or comment! (: They definitely motivate me. Thanks for reading, and I'll update soon!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own LWD characters. (:

Thank you's: Lanakila91, kris1641, MichaelSeaterIsHot, daseyfan, funnechick, Maxine Rafael, vrae56, derekandcasey4ever. Thanks so much for reviewing; you guys are fantastic! Thanks for the support – it definitely goes appreciated. (: On to the chapter!

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"God." She slammed the locker shut and looked up at him. "What more do you want? I'm leaving, okay? You can have your precious rink back." She stood and shoved past him.

"Wait, wait, wait," Derek said, turning around. "You're not going to report us, are you?"

The girl's wet eyes flashed. "Maybe I will." She folded her arms. "You were quite rude."

Derek groaned inwardly. _Great._ Now he really had to apologize. And he hated apologizing.

"Sit down," he sighed, dropping to a bench and motioning for her to do the same. She looked wary, but sat down all the same.

Now that they were face-to-face, Derek noticed that Insane Woman wasn't actually all that unfortunate looking. _In fact, _he thought, as he inspected her toned legs and glossy ponytail, _she's actually pretty hot. She's obviously crazy, but at least she's hot. _He extended a hand. "Derek," he said, by way of introduction.

She placed a cold hand in his. "I'm Casey."

"Look, Casey," he started, rolling his eyes to the ceiling, "Sorry for losing my temper with you. I just had _the_ worst day ever, and hockey's just my way of relieving stress. So is yelling, I guess."

Casey smiled slowly. "I understand exactly what you mean, Derek. I've had a really rough day. I wanted to come and skate it out."

"Bet you can't beat my rough day," Derek replied, recalling his father's announcement earlier that day. He had been shocked that his dad had chosen, not only to marry his girlfriend of five months, but to agree to let her move in with them. Derek hadn't even met the woman! And now she was moving into their house with her two bratty daughters? _Talk about unfair! _Derek thought spitefully.

Casey interrupted his thoughts. "Don't you hate when parents completely change your life around and then don't even tell you about it?" Her voice held a trace of bitter anger.

Derek looked at her in shock. "Yeah! Man," he voiced. "That's exactly how I feel."

She turned to him, eyes shining. "And when they just assume that they can totally rip you out of your life and just throw you into a new one…"

"And assume that you'll do just fine starting over," Derek finished.

Casey looked slightly taken aback. "Yeah," she said, quietly. "Yeah, that's exactly what I was going to say."

They locked gazes for a second, then both looked down.

"So…" Derek broke the silence. "What school do you go to?"

"Fletcher Academy," she replied. "It's an all-girls school."

Derek smirked. "Sweet. That must be nice."

She frowned. "Yeah. But my mom is making me transfer next year." She sounded like she was about to cry, and Derek registered that this was probably the "change" she was talking about. He didn't know how to respond.

"Um." He cleared his throat. "That sucks."

Casey laughed sadly. "Yeah, it does."

There was another silence.

This time, Casey broke it. "Hey," she started, "I don't mean to be forward, but…"

Derek's ears perked. He liked forward.

"…would you like to go get a coffee with me?"

He smirked. "Sure."

---

Casey couldn't believe it. Here she was, having coffee with a gorgeous stranger with flawless hair and a lopsided smirk. _God, that smirk. _It sent her nerves tingling. But the most amazing part was the fact that Casey was spending time with a male being in the first place. With her attending an all-girls' school, stuff like this didn't happen to her very often. _Okay, or at all, _she grudgingly admitted.

But it wasn't just physical attraction that Casey felt to this Derek guy. After talking for close to two hours and through four breadbaskets, Casey had discovered that Derek had had some shockingly similar problems in his life. And because they could relate to each other in this way, they instantly bonded. Casey liked the feeling.

Around two, Derek reached the end of his coffee. Casey heard him slurp the last few sips through his straw and subconsciously hoped that he would order another. She didn't want the day to be over quite yet.

It turned out, though, he one-upped her.

Derek tossed his coffee cup over his shoulder and into a nearby trashcan. "Score," he smirked. He turned back to Casey and sighed, placing his hands on the table. "So."

"So," she replied, raising her eyebrows and feeling incredibly articulate.

"You wanna come back to my place?" Derek asked nonchalantly. "My dad's out with his girlfriend."

Casey froze, her heart pounding. She wasn't sure what this meant. After all, she hadn't had much – or rather, any – experience with boys. _Does this really mean he wants to get in my pants? _Casey thought, panicky. Then, she felt foolish. _Of course, not, _she scoffed to herself. _Have a little more faith in the male population, Casey! Derek probably just wants…to watch a movie or something. _

She looked at him and smiled. "Sure."

---

(A/N) How was it? I hope you liked it! Please feel free to leave a review telling me what you thought/what you ate for lunch today/anything. (: Thanks for reading! I'll update soon.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own LWD characters. (:

Thank you's: derekandcasey4ever, funnechick (wow, I had an uncannily similar lunch!), sydmoonlight, Cinny72, daseyfan, ilovecrash, monkeypants17, Lanakila91, kris1641, vrae56! Thanks so much for reviewing – your reviews all definitely go appreciated! You guys are magnifique. (: On to the chapter!

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Derek and Casey kept up a steady stream of conversation the whole four blocks back to the Venturi house. Derek realized that he could really relate to this Casey girl – she went through a lot of similar problems as he did; regarding sibling rivalry, parental issues, and more. He even wished that he could have her nearby all the time, so they could rant about their problems together.

But it was more than just emotional attraction…Casey was really hot (which was a plus).

The two reached the front steps, and Derek dug into his pocket for his house key. After dodging some old candy wrappers and his headphones, his hand closed on the cool metal. He unlocked the door.

"Smerek!" came his little sister's voice. Marti Venturi came barreling down the stairs and leapt into his arms.

"Oof," Derek grumbled, wincing as Marti repeatedly kicked his thighs. "Smarti, I'd love to play, but I'm kind of busy." _Indeed, _Derek thought. _If all goes well, hopefully I will be busy. With Casey. _

"Who's this?" Marti questioned, as Derek set her onto the floor. "Your girlfriend?"

Derek smirked. "Marti, this is my friend, Casey. Casey, this is my sister, Marti."

Casey smiled at the girl. "Hi, Marti!"

"Hi, Cady!" Marti squealed back, revealing her missing front teeth. "Did you know that Smerek brings lots of girls home?"

"He does?"

"Heh, heh," Derek laughed awkwardly, pushing Marti along. "Smarti, why don't you go play with Edwin?" He turned back to Casey when his sister had left the room. "She – uh – thinks my friends are girls sometimes." He decided not to broach the topic of the four actual girls he had taken up to his room in the last month.

Casey raised an eyebrow.

"Oookay!" Derek exhaled sharply, clapping his hands together. "Why don't we go up to my room? No annoying kids up there, I promise." He paused. "Well, just me, but I'll try to behave."

---

Casey wasn't sure how she had gotten here. One minute, she was looking through Derek's CD collection, and the next, she was pushed up against his wall with her arms around him.

Derek was smooth. He hadn't behaved. He had kicked the door shut with his foot, said all the right things, then kissed all the right places.

"Is this okay?" Derek murmured into Casey's neck. She sighed.

"I went to an all-girl's school. You don't have much competition."

Casey could practically feel him smirk into her collarbone.

_This is a dark, unfamiliar place_, a voice in the back of Casey's head nagged. But it was a foggy voice, one that seemed to come from far away. Subconsciously, Casey pushed it farther into her head. She hated her incessant logic. All she wanted to do, for once, was enjoy the moment.

As Derek's hands ran expertly down her waist, Casey was suddenly and inexplicably overwhelmed with a desire to exact revenge on her mother for ruining her life. She quickly realized that hooking up with this hot hockey player, whom she had just met and would likely never see again, seemed like the perfect way to do so.

---

Edwin and Marti Venturi kept their ears smashed against their brother's door, listening to the foreign noises coming form within.

"Marti," Edwin whispered, solemnly. "Never do what they're doing. It's bad."

Marti's eyes widened as she heard the headboard bang into the wall. "Edwin, Edwin!" she whispered. "Is Smerek hurting Cady?"

"Um." Her brother placed a reassuring hand on her small arm. "Marti, let's go back downstairs."

"Okay…race you!"

---

Just as the two kids hit the landing, the front door opened.

"Daddy!" Marti grinned, waving and running to meet him.

"Hey, kiddos!" Mr. Venturi beamed. "Hey, Edwin, call Derek down. There's someone I want you all to meet."

Edwin's eyes bulged in panic. "Uh, yeah, Dad. Sure. Uh, hold on." He stumbled in his hasted to get back up the stairs. He pounded frantically on Derek's door.

"Derek!" he hissed.

"Not – now – Ed – win," his brother responded thickly through the door.

"Yes, now. Dad's home!"

There was silence, followed by a lot of cursing and the sound of fumbling zippers. Finally, the door swung open to reveal two unkempt teenagers standing in the frame. Casey was desperately trying to pin up her hair, and Derek was still yanking on a green shirt.

"Okay, Edwin," he sighed. "What is it? What does Dad want?"

He saluted. "There's someone he wants you to meet, sir."

---

Casey watched, from her little hiding niche, Derek greet his mustached, blond dad. Her mind, however, was still reeling from the state of euphoria that Derek had propelled her into. She couldn't wait to tell her friends about him – the way he smirked, the way he kissed, the way he used his sarcastic wit… Casey didn't want to trick herself into falling into a euphoria-induced attraction to Derek, but she found herself doing so anyway.

She chewed her finger and rearranged her hair, then peeked around the wall. Derek was now reluctantly shaking hands with a black-haired woman.

"Kids," his dad boomed proudly. "This is the woman I am planning on spending the rest of my life with. Your new mom!"

"Sup," Derek grumbled, looking bored. Edwin and Marti only stared shyly.

The woman seemed to be oblivious to tension. "Hi, guys!" she gushed. "I can't wait to spend more time with you all. And I can't wait for you to meet your new sisters! They'll adore you."

Casey's hand went limp. _That voice…_Her moment of imbalance caused her to knock loudly against a picture frame, which then crashed loudly to the floor. _Shit…_

"What was that?" Derek's dad said, from downstairs.

Derek hastily shook his head. "N-nothing. I just…have a friend over."

"Well, don't make him stay up there all alone-"

"-No, Dad, he doesn't mind - "

"Hey, man!" Derek's dad called up to Casey, whose heart was still beating like a jogger's. "Come on down – don't be shy!"

Casey, sweat plastered to her forehead, stepped tentatively down to the landing. She was dying to see who Derek's new mom was. Her heart stopped as her eyes locked with the woman's. _Oh. My. God. _

"Mom?"

"Casey?"

Derek's eyes darted between the two women, his face contorting into a grimace as he began to realize what was happening. He put his hands to his temples. "Ho-ly. Shit," he cursed slowly. "Holy mo-"

Edwin covered Marti's ears.

---

(A/N) How was it? I hope you liked it! Please feel free to leave me some motivation in the form of a review! (: Thanks so much for reading. I'll update soon!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Life With Derek. (:

Thank you's: MichaelSeaterIsHot, ilovecrash, funnechick, Leigh, Chica De Los Ojos Café, BrathanandBrucas2009, Sparrows Dragonfly, derekandcasey4ever, Hopes2High, vrae56, R0ckSTaR, nscottsgirl23, monkeypants17, Lanakila91, Cinny72, emma676, HopelessRomantic93, and Mrs. William the Bloody! Thank you so much to all of you. Seriously, all of your reviews made me smile and want to write more. You guys are wonderful and terrific and deserve nice cookies. (:

(A/N) I apologize in advance, btw, for how short this chapter is. I had to cut it after the next installment got way too long. I absolutely hate writing short chapters, so I promise I'll make it up to you guys by updating tomorrow, for sure! If I don't, feel free to throw virtual rocks at me. (: Onward!

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Derek did not like the situation he was in. He didn't like it one bit. He felt like he was in some demented horror movie where the amputee killer accidentally murders his own sister. _Except in my case... _Derek winced, not wanting to finish the sentence.

"What are you doing here, Casey?" Nora asked, so shocked that she placed emphases on every word in her sentence.

Casey looked equally shocked. "Uh… Uh," she stammered stupidly.

Derek waited, on the tips of his toes, for something remotely intelligent to come spilling out of Casey's mouth. Unfortunately, the shock seemed to render her temporarily mute (not to mention, braindead), leaving Derek to have to come up with a suitable alibi. _God, women, _he thought, rolling his eyes. _I guess it takes a man to do the lying. _

"We met at the ice rink," he cut in. All eyes turned to him. "After introducing ourselves, we realized who we both were. So…I brought Casey back to show her around her new house and her new…siblings."

Nora's jaw dropped. "Oh, wow! What are the odds of that happening?"

"Probably slim to none," said George.

"Well, that was nice of you, Derek!" Nora gushed, breaking into a genuine smile. "Casey, isn't your new stepbrother a sweetheart?"

Casey shot Derek a tormented look. "Yeah. A sweetheart."

He could only stare back at Casey's silent plea for help, unable to move. _She's my stepsister. Ugh. Gross. _His mind was whirring; he couldn't stop thinking about it. _Oh, man. I just hit on my stepsister. I just felt up my stepsister. Oh, man… I just made out with my stepsister. For hours. Man, this is like some sick Cruel Intentions shit, _he thought, shuddering.

"But what I don't understand," his dad was saying, while furrowing his brow, "is why Casey was hiding upstairs in the first place."

Derek jumped to answer, shaken out of his reverie. "Hah, that's an easy one!" he said, just a little too loudly.

He received strange glances in response.

"Uh," he cleared his throat. "I mean…I can tell you that one. Casey didn't want to see her mom. She's been really mad at her mom all day, so she asked if she could hide. So…I was showing her around."

"Yep!" Marti chimed in. "Smerek _was_ throwing Cady around! I heard the noises!"

Derek froze in a cold sweat. _No, Marti…what are you saying?_

"Noises?" Nora asked, looking shocked. "Derek and Casey, what were you guys doing? Destroying the furniture because you were mad at me?"

Casey was squeezing her eyes tightly shut, looking like she clearly wanted to be somewhere else. Derek sent her annoyed vibes. _Thanks so much for leaving me to do all the lying. _

He sighed. "Smarti," he started, looking down at his sister. "I've told you once and I'll tell you again - Barenaked Ladies is not noise. I know you said that their CD cover gives you nightmares and that the lead singer looks like a walrus, but honestly, they're a hardworking group that deserves to be called more than just noise."

Marti did exactly what Derek had hoped she would do – stare blankly back at him. "I like my socks today," she grinned.

He exhaled. _Close one. _He looked at his dad and shrugged, as if saying, "What are we going to do with her?" He seemed to be buying it. Derek snuck a look at Nora. She seemed to be buying it.

Indeed, Nora only cast George a suspicious look before deciding to let the moment pass. To Derek, whose palms were beginning to sweat profusely, it felt like a lifetime. "Well, George," she finally smiled, "do you want to go look at the flower arrangements for the wedding now?"

"Great idea! I have the magazine around here somewhere…"

"Guest room," Edwin supplied.

"Ah. Thank you, son."

The two adults thus exited the room, leaving four kids – one oblivious, one confused, and two extremely awkward and relieved.

Derek raised his eyebrows at his younger brother.

"Got it," Edwin muttered. Then, louder, he said, "Hey, Marti, do you want to go play hide-and seek in the backyard?"

"Okay!"

And then there was two.

---

(A/N) How was it? I hope you liked it. Please feel free to leave me some motivation or a comment in the form of a review! Thanks so much for reading. Again, sorry for the uber short chapter - I shall update ASAP! (:


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own LWD! (:

Thank you's: GuardieBexx, Sparrows Dragonfly, Mrs.Williamthebloody, Chica de los ojos Café, ilovecrash, funnechick, Lanakila91, KRB, Fashion RoadKi11, Cinny72, salvadorianchick, Hopes2High, Laney-Marie, emma676, Infidi, monkeypants17, derekandcasey4ever, xoxTrulyYoursxox, Zuzzeroo, and The Beauty of Grace! Thank you so much, all of you. Your reviews really go appreciated – I love reading your little messages. (: You are all terrific, so I baked you all some virtual cookies! –hands out said cookies-

Important (A/N)!: Okay, I had initially planned to write all the way up to George and Nora's wedding, but I noticed how nicely everything wrapped up at the end of this chapter. EDIT: After several hours of deliberation, I have decided to end my story here! I think it would be better to leave it with a "sense of finality", as Chica said. (: Thanks, guys!

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Casey did not like the situation she was in. She did not like it one bit. Granted, she was glad that the parental exchange was over, but there was still Derek to deal with. _Derek. _The name sent chills up her spine. _My stepbrother. Ugh! Did I really just make out with my stepbrother? Did I really let his hands wander all over me? Did we really? Eww!_ She shuddered. _God! This is like some sick Oedipus Rex book. _

After an impossibly awkward silence, Casey raised her gaze. She noticed Derek staring back at her across the room, leaning against the couch with his arms folded.

"What?" she snapped, face flushing.

"Don't use that tone with me," he sneered. "I feel just as gross as you do."

"Doubt it."

"Bet I do."

"Bet you don't." Casey's hands suddenly flew to her face. She groaned, "God, Derek. Because of this, I'm going to have to see a therapist or something!"

He smirked. "I think you would need one even if this hadn't happened."

"Gee, that was so funny, I forgot to laugh."

"You know, that line is so old, I actually feel my hair turning white."

"Huh." Casey couldn't stifle an exasperated chuckle. "That made no sense, Derek."

There was silence. Derek rolled his eyes up to the ceiling and sighed loudly. "This whole day made no sense."

"Mm." Casey smiled grimly. She pushed herself off the mahogany drawer and joined her brother in leaning against the couch. Their shoulders touched, but neither made an effort to move. "Derek," she said, softly.

He gave her a sidelong glance but didn't speak.

"Derek!" she repeated, elbowing him.

His head rolled onto her shoulder, playfully. "Can't hear you," he muttered.

Casey pushed him off. "Derek, you do know that this isn't going to be just an awkward day that we can just shake off, right?"

"Could've fooled me. Do you know anyone who can erase memories?"

Casey rolled her eyes. She had a feeling that she would be doing that a lot around Derek. "I'm serious. This isn't just a day, you realize that? This is our whole lives. We're going to live in the same house. We're going to have to be together our whole lives."

He groaned. "Casey, no offense or anything, but I think we should just drop the topic. So we made out with each other. Okay, I'll admit I was attracted to you. But I think we both know that we need to put this behind us." He put both hands on Casey's shoulders and shook her. "I'm your brother now."

She half-smiled and pushed his hands off her shoulders. "I know."

Derek sighed and shoved himself off the couch. "Well," he started, "I'm going back upstairs. You can just…"

"Don't worry." Casey laughed openly. "I'm not going back in there. You know, I don't think I can go back in there ever, without thinking about today… Ugh, I'll never forget it."

He smirked and stretched cockily. "That good, huh?"

"Der-EK!" Casey's jaw dropped, and she instinctively chucked, at him, the first of many pillows that she would throw in the course of their relationship. "Get out of here! You're gross."

"I know, I know, I'm going," He jumped up the stairs two at a time.

Casey was now the only one left in the room. She sat despondently on the couch for a while, blowing up her long brown bangs.

She replayed her stepbrother's words in her mind again. _"We need to put this behind us."_ She couldn't seem to figure out why those words bothered her more than they should have.

Deep down, Casey knew she could never erase her initial reaction to him. _Who am I trying to kid?_ she thought, putting her chin in her hands. _I can't just turn off love like a faucet. I mean, finding out that he's my brother in the vast interval of a day isn't automatically going to erase my attraction to him. Plus, even George said that the chances of Derek and I running into each other were slim to none. It was serendipity that brought us together at the skate rink today. Fate, you could say._

_And there's just no fighting fate. _

---

"_We're going to have to be together our whole lives."_

Derek lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling and replaying Casey's words in his head. He couldn't seem to figure out why those words didn't bother him as much as they should. _Spending my whole life in the same house as Casey, with the constant reminder of what happened between us? _He tried to talk himself into hating the idea, or at least, feeling uncomfortable with it.

He couldn't.

But wait. There _was _something. Derek seized it eagerly, but was quickly disappointed with himself. It wasn't discomfort or even disgust (though the realization of it _did_ turn his stomach).

No. What he felt was happiness.

---

Casey was still downstairs. Her head reeled. Her whole life, she had lived in her organized little bubble, reliving her days while she lay her bed at night, by taking apart every detail that had transpired that day until she was satisfied that everything had gone her way.

Today, however, she had lived. Really lived.

Today, she had abandoned her never-ending logic and acted on impulse. _Finally! _Granted, she could just have been feeling extra rebellious at her mother, but there was something else. Casey was sure that one Derek Venturi could have had a little something to do with it.

Casey didn't want to - no, refused - to let this pass, as she had done so many other good things in her life. Because of Derek, Casey had finally started living for once! She'd be damned if she wouldn't go through with it.

Gripping the side of the sofa, Casey got to her feet. She sighed, rolled her shoulders back, and began the long ascent up the stairs.

She knocked on the first door.

It opened.

"Can I help you?"

---

Derek wasn't sure how he got here. One second, he had been mulling over the discovery of his gorgeous sister, and the next, said sister had appeared at his door and launched herself at his face.

"Casey," he muttered against her, shocked. "What are you doing?"

She pulled away and looked at him full on. "We're going to finish this."

"Finish?"

"For the first time in my life," she murmured, "I want to live on the edge. I need to do this."

Derek was more than happy to oblige.

"Wait," she said, warningly. "You do know that we only have today. After today, it'll have to be over."

_Over. _The word resounded in Derek's head. He knew that Casey spoke the truth – this was the last day that they could be together in this way. After today, they would have to leave this all behind and transform into brother and sister – a relationship that called for arguments and thrown pillows rather than kisses on top of pillows.

"I know that." _I'd better really savor this, then._

There was something melancholy about the last time they could be together. _Bittersweet. _Derek felt Casey snake both her arms around his neck. Their mouths moved as one. He caught every breath she released. It was forbidden in every sense, yet it felt so right.

---

While Nora and George were downstairs, deciding between carnations and roses for their wedding, their children were upstairs, relishing what was left of their quickly ending relationship.

"Derek." Casey's whisper was soft on Derek's neck.

"Yeah."

"Do you think it was serendipity that brought us to each other?"

"What does serendipity mean?" He draped an arm over his stepsister's waist.

"That it was meant to happen."

_Meant to happen. _Derek repeated it under his breath. He liked the sound of the phrase; it made him feel as if he was included in some important event in the universe. He kissed the top of Casey's head lightly. Together, entwined in each other's arms, both felt complete.

Neither of them wanted to leave. Their relationship was like an hourglass, with just a little smidge of sand caught on the side of the glass. Once it moved, the last grains would fall through. Once they moved, they would leave this behind forever. Once they moved, they could never look back.

Derek decided not to prolong the torment any longer. He slid quietly off the bed, picked up his headphones off his desk, and put them around his neck.

He wanted to leave quickly, before he changed his mind. As he put his hand on the doorknob, he turned back to Casey, who already looked heartbroken.

"Yeah, I think so," he replied, swinging the door open.

"Think what?"

He put the headphones over his ears. "That it was serendipity."

---

(A/N) How was it? I hope you liked it! Please feel welcome to leave comments/questions in the form of a review! Thanks so much for taking the time to read my story, and all your reviews went appreciated. Thanks again! (:


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